Pakistan Stock Exchange Rebounds After Record Fall

Friday, May 9, 2025 – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened strong on Friday, bouncing back from Thursday’s record-breaking losses. Investors showed renewed confidence as the day began quietly, without any fresh geopolitical developments that might spook the market.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged to an intraday high of 105,946.01 points, climbing 2,419.2 points or 2.33% from the previous day’s close of 103,526.81. However, the session also saw volatility, with the index touching a low of 102,420.82, marking a brief drop of 1.06%.

Topline Securities CEO Mohammad Sohail said, “After falling sharply by 6% yesterday due to drone attacks, Pakistani stocks have recovered and are up 2% in the first 30 minutes of trading on Friday. So far, there has been no news of any major escalation, helping in restoring confidence.”

The sharp rebound came just a day after the PSX suffered its worst single-day decline in history, with the KSE-100 dropping 6,482.21 points, or 5.89%, on Thursday. The sell-off had triggered the market’s circuit breaker, halting trading for an hour as the KSE-30 Index dropped over 5% within five minutes.

Friday’s optimism is also linked to investor attention on the IMF Executive Board meeting taking place today. The board is set to approve a $1.3 billion disbursement under Pakistan’s ongoing 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The IMF will also review Pakistan’s request to ease performance criteria and release additional funds through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

If approved, the disbursement will bring total IMF funding under the program to nearly $2 billion, providing much-needed support for Pakistan’s fragile economy.

Despite recent instability, Friday’s session suggests cautious optimism is returning to the market, with hopes pinned on successful IMF talks and a stable security outlook.